Brothel Study Committee Members Appointed

(Chuck Muth) – Last week the Nevada Legislative Commission appointed the six members of the Legislature who will sit on the interim committee charged with studying the working conditions for Nevada’s legal commercial sex workers.

The study, proposed by Assemblywoman Leslie Cohen (D-Las Vegas), will include “an examination of the extent to which the rules and working conditions in licensed brothels provide for the health, safety and general welfare of sex workers in licensed brothels.”

The appointed study committee members include three from the State Senate and three from the State Assembly. Four Democrats, two Republicans. Four women, two men. Three from Clark County, one from Washoe County and two rural.

They are…

Julia Ratti (D-Washoe)

Dallas Harris (D-Clark)

Pete Goicoechea (R-Rural)

Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen (D-Clark)

Assemblywoman Heidi Swank (D-Clark)

Assemblyman John Ellison (R-Rural)

Of the six, Sen. Goicoechea and Assemblyman Ellison represent districts in which legal brothels currently operate. Legal brothels are not allowed in Clark and Washoe counties.

The study committee will likely hold its first meeting some time in late September and is likely to appoint Assemblywoman Cohen to serve as the committee chair.

The group will likely conduct its study through next June or July and then begin the process of recommending possible legislation for the 2021 legislative session.

Of primary interest, as outlined in the bill creating the study and articulated during hearings on it, is the nature of the contractual relationship, rules, and working conditions of the independent businesswomen who choose to work at the brothels and the brothel owners.

The committee is also directed to study…

“The adequacy of oversight and regulation by the State and licensing and law enforcement units of local government with respect to the health, safety and general welfare of workers in licensed brothels.”

In that regard here are three areas the committee should put at the top of its list for examination…

1.) Closing a loophole in the law that potentially allows the work card applications of commercial sex workers at Nevada’s legal brothels to be released to the public.

Those work card applications – which include private information, such as social security number, home address and other contact information – should be considered confidential, just like the applications to obtain a work card for gaming and liquor establishments.

In fact, the confidentiality for these women is even more important due to the nature of their work. After all, liquor store clerks and blackjack dealers aren’t usually targets for stalking, harassment and sexual assault. Commercial sex workers are.

2.) Eliminating and/or changing state law and ordinances which perpetuate the social stigma associated with commercial sex work.

Despite brothels being legal in parts of rural Nevada, certain wording, phraseology, limitations, requirements and restrictions unique only to this industry contribute to a community perception that these professional women are “second-class citizens.”

Eliminating the stigma associated with LEGAL commercial sex work in Nevada would go a long way toward improving the “health, safety and general welfare of workers in licensed brothels.”

3.) Along those same lines, the study committee should review provisions in state law that discriminate against legal brothels when it comes to advertising.

Despite being a legal, licensed and heavily regulated industry, Nevada’s brothels suffer from severe restrictions, embedded in law, on their ability to market their services, unlike every other legal business in the state – including gaming, liquor and marijuana, as well as other sex-related businesses such as gentleman’s clubs and escort services.

Indeed, state law even goes so far as to make it unlawful for a legal brothel to include in any “display, handbill or publication” the “address, location or telephone number of a house of prostitution” or “identification of a means of transportation to such a house,” or even “directions telling how to obtain any such information.”

Seriously? In 2019? Does Google Maps know about this?

Such limitations and restrictions on a legal business which perpetuates the stigma absolutely harms the “general welfare of workers in licensed brothels” and should be revised.

With those items in mind, let the study begin.

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a limited-government grassroots advocacy organization, and government affairs counsel to the Nevada Brothel Association

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Suzette Cole, CEO, Moonlite Bunny Ranch

“Prostitution is the oldest profession and will not go away. Nevada has been doing it right since 1971 when we took it out of the criminal’s hands and put it into a highly-regulated industry. As an added benefit, there has never been a case of HIV/AIDS in the history of legal brothels here…and you can’t say that about any other profession in the United States.”

John Stossel, Syndicated Columnist

“We don’t have to cheer for prostitution, or think it’s nice, to keep government out of it and let participants make up their own minds. It’s wrong to ban sex workers’ options just to make ourselves feel better.”

Steve Chapman, Syndicated Columnist

“Prohibition doesn’t eliminate the harms generally associated with prostitution, such as violence, human trafficking and disease. On the contrary, it fosters them by driving the business underground.”

Christina Parreira, UNLV Researcher/Sex Worker

“Sex work is my CHOICE. I’d like to continue to have the opportunity to make that choice legally. We don’t need protection. We’re consenting, adult women.”

New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried

“Trying to stop sex work between consenting adults should not be the business of the criminal justice system.”

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker

“Yes, sex work should be decriminalized. As a general matter, I don’t believe that we should be criminalizing activity between consenting adults, and especially when doing so causes even more harm for those involved.”

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders

“I think the idea of legalizing prostitution is something that should be considered…(and) certainly needs to be discussed.”

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris

“When you’re talking about consenting adults, I think that, yes, we should really consider that we can’t criminalize consensual behavior, as long as no one is being harmed. … We should not be criminalizing women who are engaged in consensual opportunities for employment.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren

“I believe humans should have autonomy over their own bodies and they get to make their own decisions.”

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

“If a consenting adult wants to engage in sex work, that is their right, and it should not be a crime. All people should have autonomy over their bodies and their labor.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper

“Legalizing prostitution and regulating it, so there are norms and protections and we understand more clearly how people are being treated and make sure we prevent abuse, I think it should be really looked at.”

Mike Gravel, former Alaska Senator

“Sex workers are workers, and they deserve the dignity and respect that every worker deserves. For too long, we’ve denied them that. Sex workers, not politicians, should lead the way in crafting sex work policy.”

Prof. Ronald Weitzer, George Washington University:

“Unlike illegal street prostitution in many other places, Nevada’s legal brothels do not disturb public order, create nuisances, or negatively impact local communities in other ways. Instead, they provide needed tax revenue for cash-strapped rural towns.”

Prof. Barbara Brents, UNLV author, “State of Sex”:

“Teams of scholars…have concluded that Nevada’s legal brothels provide a far safer environment for sex workers than the criminalized system in the rest of the United States.”

Prof. Sarah Blithe, UNR author, “Sex and Stigma”:

“Discussions of legal prostitution are rife with misinformation. Academic work and popular press publications alike often conflate legal prostitution in the United States with illegal prostitution.”

Lee Herz Dixon:

“Do I think eradicating legal prostitution from all Nevada counties will erase the practice of the oldest profession in the state, or break the nexus of drugs, crime, and exploitation of the vulnerable? I do not.”

Journalist Michael Cernovich:

“It’s empirically proven that criminalizing sex work allows children to be sex trafficked more readily as they are afraid to turn to authorities and wonder if they will be arrested.”

Enrique Carmona:

“We need to put aside moralistic prejudices, whether based on religion or an idealistic form of feminism, and figure out what is in the best interests of the sex workers and public interest as well.”

Ruby Rae, professional courtesan

“In the brothels, we have the choice, always, to say which clients we will say yes and no to. We have staff that would never let a man hurt us, and we have a clientele that do not come here to hurt us.”

Kiki Lover, professional courtesan:

“We are human beings who chose to do sex work on our own free will. We get treated with respect and like family at the brothels. It’s a job just like any other job. We sell a service that all humans need.”

Paris Envy, professional courtesan:

“I’m not ‘exploited.’ I’m not ‘trafficked.’ I’m not ‘brainwashed.’ I don’t need to be ‘saved.’ I’ve freely chosen this line of work, which is a legal, private transaction between consenting adults.”

Alice Little, professional courtesan:

“It’s ILLEGAL sex work that exploits children. It’s ILLEGAL sex work that traffics. It’s ILLEGAL sex work that sees women exploited and abused by pimps.”

Jim Shedd, Nevadan

“Prostitution should be licensed, regulated, taxed like any other service industry. There are many single or widowed men and women who should be able to take advantage of such services provided by consenting adults for consenting adults. Let’s act to at least reduce illegal sex trafficking and other sex crimes by creating safe and legal outlets for paying adults who wish to use them.”

Paul Bourassa, brothel customer:

“Some people are just never given a chance in the dating scene, so brothels offer those of us with no experience a chance to learn what it’s like to be on a date.”

Lewis Dawkins, brothel customer:

“It’s not always about sex. Little compliments and encouragements offered by the ladies help build my self-confidence. It’s a business, yes. But the ladies care personally about their clients. That means a lot.”

Brett Caton, brothel customer:

“I think brothels provide an important function in society. Legal ones give a safe outlet to their customers and for some men it is the only way they get so much as a hug.”

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Mission

The Nevada Brothel Association PAC is a coalition of legal brothel owners, brothel workers, brothel clients and brothel supporters dedicated to defending a woman’s right to choose professional sex work as a career, protecting the public’s health and safety, and preserving Nevada’s rich live-and-let-live heritage.